DENVER – Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) is creating a new program to guide the future of shared streets in the Mile High City and is providing residents with an opportunity to weigh in on stretches of roadway they feel would be a good fit.
DOTI is requesting residents provide input on a map of residential and commercial streets that are potential candidates (shown in blue and yellow), excluding industrial areas and streets with RTD bus routes to prevent delays in transit. The shared streets would be one to three blocks in length and those chosen for the program would receive treatments to aggressively divert and slow vehicle travel in order to create an environment more conducive to walking and gathering. Public input will be part of the consideration process, as well as surrounding destinations, land uses, and equity. The streets would provide more space for people to recreate while still allowing for local access by people in cars and delivery vehicles. Shared Streets Denver are intended to fit into and support a larger citywide network of bicycle, transit and pedestrian infrastructure.
Residents can participate in the shared streets prioritization process by visiting the project web page at www.bit.ly/DenSharedSt, reviewing the interactive map, and dropping pins on the map where they -would- or -would not- like to see a future Shared Street. The mapping tool will be open until Friday, March 3.
The project team is also inviting residents to a virtual public meeting on Thursday, February 16, from 5:30-7:00pm to get an overall update on Denver’s shared streets initiative; the mapping tool will be available during the meeting as well. Residents interested in attending should register via a link that can be accessed on the website at www.bit.ly/DenSharedSt.
Temporary shared streets were first initiated by DOTI in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as designated areas where people could safely walk, roll and recreate while maintaining some distance from one another; slow vehicle travel/local access was also permitted. After social distancing requirements were lifted, most of the temporary shared streets (five of seven) received permanent treatments to slow vehicles and make travel by bike more comfortable.